The Truth About 5th Grade

by Mark Parisi, Mark Parisi (Illustrator), Kim Tomsic

Overview

Charlotte “Charli” Wilson thought Alex Andropov would always be her best BFF in the whole wide world. From crushes to butterfly phobias to secret hidden blankies, there’s never been a secret they couldn’t share. Charli even showed Alex the supersecret hiding spot for her diary. But when school starts and Charli learns that Alex has betrayed her by sharing her biggest, most secretest secret, she realizes that maybe her bestie isn’t so great after all.

Meanwhile, Alex has no idea what he's done wrong. He doesn’t know why Charli’s not talking to him. He has no choice (right? RIGHT?) but to take her diary and try to correct the record. There’s always two sides to the truth—especially in fifth grade.

With hilarious illustrations and outrageous twists on every page, this is the perfect story for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Tapper Twins, and Invisible Emmie.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063038714
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	314,618
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Mark Parisi is the award-winning cartoonist of the long-running newspaper comic panel Off the Mark. Parisi has won Best Newspaper Panel Comic from the National Cartoonists Society four times and Best Greeting Cards once. More recently Parisi authored and illustrated the HarperCollins middle grade book series Marty Pants. Mark lives on the east coast of Massachusetts and is currently covered in cat hair.

Mark Parisi is the award-winning cartoonist of the long-running newspaper comic panel Off the Mark. Parisi has won Best Newspaper Panel Comic from the National Cartoonists Society four times and Best Greeting Cards once. More recently Parisi authored and illustrated the HarperCollins middle grade book series Marty Pants. Mark lives on the east coast of Massachusetts and is currently covered in cat hair.

Kim Tomsic was a classroom conversationalist and got in trouble (a lot!) with teachers for talking. The trouble spanned from the East Coast to the West Coast, because she was a military brat and the new girl at eight different schools. In between friendships, she discovered that a good book can be a welcomed companion. Her closest friends know that her favorite foods are ice cream, peanut M&Ms, and Li Hing Muis, and her favorite word is “possibilities.” Kim has two grown children and now lives in Arizona with her husband and dog; The 11:11 Wish is her first middle grade novel and is followed by The 12th Candle. Visit her at kimtomsic.com or kimscritiquingcorner.blogspot.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/27/2024

Though everyone keeps telling them “people change,” fifth grade best friends Charli Wilson and Alex Andropov, who do everything together, are certain that nothing can come between them: their mothers co-own an architecture firm, their fathers co-facilitate a poetry club, and they’re next-door neighbors. But when Charli meets classmate Henry and dubs him her True Crush Forever, and learns that Alex committed the BFF crime of “BLABBERMOUTHERY” by telling someone about said crush, things begin to fall apart. Charli has never told anyone that Alex sleeps with a blankie or that he has a crush on quiet classmate Kiara, so she doesn’t understand Alex’s betrayal. Alternating diary entries written by Parisi (the Marty Pants series) and Tomsic (The 12th Candle) feature expressive illustrations that match the characters’ personalities: doodles in the margins and dramatic line breaks personify Charli’s stream-of-consciousness narration while Alex’s organized paragraphs sport larger defined sketches. As the besties struggle to get on the same page, they navigate friendship rivalries, pranks, and violations of privacy via fast-paced chapters that highlight their differences—and similarities—and offer laugh-out-loud moments. Character skin tones match the white of the page. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

The truth is: readers are going to LOVE this HILARIOUS he-said/she-said diary! — Sarah Mlynowski, author of the NYT Bestselling Whatever After series

"The book includes plenty of humor, such as a memory of a ladybug flying up Alex’s nose... The illustrations are appealing and break up the text, making it accessible to reluctant readers. ... Lively, fun, and deeply relatable."  — Kirkus Reviews

"As the besties struggle to get on the same page, [Alex and Charli] navigate friendship rivalries, pranks, and violations of privacy via fast-paced chapters that highlight their differences—and similarities—and offer laugh-out-loud moments."  — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2024-05-17
Fifth grade is full of drama over friendship and crushes.

Charlotte “Charli” Wilson and Alex Andropov have been best friends since preschool. They have long-held traditions, including a secret signal when one of them wants to leave an uncomfortable situation, and they’re fiercely protective of each other’s vulnerabilities: Charli has webbed toes, and Alex still sleeps with his blankie. As they prepare to enter fifth grade, their hormones are ramping up. Charli can’t stop thinking about Henry, who moved here recently from California, while Alex is crushing on the free-spirited Kiara. When Alex lets it spill that Charli likes Henry, she’s furious. Will the two ever make up? Told in diary format, the book alternates between Charli’s and Alex’s perspectives. Both protagonists are well developed, and their personalities come through. Charli’s entries are effusive and peppered with doodles of hearts and flowers, while Alex’s writing is comparatively terse, with comic book–style illustrations. Readers will relate to the characters’ big feelings, from their all-encompassing crushes to the angst of feuding with a BFF. The conflict between Charli and Alex keeps the story moving fast. The book includes plenty of humor, such as a memory of a ladybug flying up Alex’s nose, though some references may go over kids’ heads. The illustrations are appealing and break up the text, making it accessible to reluctant readers. Characters have skin the white of the page; hairstyles imply some diversity.

Lively, fun, and deeply relatable. (Fiction. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews